Symbiosis
by Alice Go Home
Summary: "Sometimes we can't explain why we do the things we do." [Not] a love story. Chuck Hansen x Jazmine Becket. PREQUEL to "Illusion of Home". Rated M for a reason.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**: _SO. I originally just wanted this piece to be a one-shot. But I have a retarded, over-active imagination and didn't want it to turn into a tl;dr thing.. So, yeah. Suddenly, it's going to be two parts._  
_**  
**__Prequel-ish companion piece to "Illusion of Home". Describes the events taking place over the course of 2024 prior to it. Please R&R.  
_

* * *

**Symbiosis**

The first time.

They weren't lovers.

There was no drawn out courtship between the two of them. No escalating infatuation that would lead to heart-felt confessions of budding feelings. It was curiosity more than anything on her part. And, well… the Australian boy just happened to be in the right place at the right time, so to speak.

_Sometimes we can't explain why we do the things we do._

He'd detected something in Jazmine Becket. From the first time he'd laid eyes on her. Something that he knew he might develop a fondness for. As such, he wanted nothing more than to keep a proper distance. It had proved to be a challenge though, as she seemed to derive great enjoyment from her incessant tormenting of him.

"_Hah, alright. It's your funeral though_, Becket."

That was what Chuck Hansen had told her before the first time they'd kissed. There was no love behind it. Only anger— and the wanton sort of emotion that accompanied young lust. It was a struggle for dominance in its purest form.

She would never forget that kiss though.

* * *

"You know, you really are a fucking nuisance."

"And why is _that_? Because you aren't as much of a badass as you think you are?"

Both of them were walking at a brisk pace now. Chuck had done so in an attempt to shake the Becket girl's pursuit. But she wasn't falling behind, much to his displeasure. Chuck had stormed off lividly following a heated argument in the hanger. It was only when chancing a glance over his shoulder that he realized Jazmine had been nipping at his heels from the get-go.

He finally ceased his rampage down the hallway, turning to her menacingly. A look of animalistic agitation gleamed in his eyes and his voice came as a snarl.

"LOOK— why don't you just fuck off already?"

"Oh, okay. Because someone is _actually trying_ to know you? Even though all you've done this entire time is make yourself look like a piece of shit? That's rich."

She really did have a comeback for everything. And although Chuck would never say it, it was actually kind of attractive.

He shifted his weight back while crossing his arms and staring down at the brown haired girl in front of him. She wasn't going to be leaving any time soon. That much she'd made clear. Still— why would she even want to "_know_" him.. _or however she'd put it._.? Why couldn't she just react like everyone else? It would be easier that way. To scorn him for his cockiness. His bad attitude.

Chuck wasn't equipped for the sort of response she'd given instead.

Glancing around the area once to confirm that they were alone, he finally spoke.

"… what's there to know?" His voice had died down considerably and he'd subconsciously broken eye contact with her. Even if it was only for a few fleeting seconds.

The whole thing had started when she'd caught him watching her in the launch bay that afternoon. Something he actually did quite often. She was a pretty girl, sure— no denying that. But there was also this sort of… undeniable bleakness hanging over her. It was difficult to ignore. He'd heard she'd had a brother who served as a ranger in the PPDC up until he'd been KIA. Maybe that had something to do with it. It was a sadness that wasn't overly apparent at first glance, but he could see it in her eyes all the same.

_He was no stranger to sadness._

"You honestly thought I haven't noticed you watching me for _months_ now? Do you really believe yourself to be that clever? Or do you just think that _I'm_ that stupid? Like I said— you aren't as slick as you think you are, _Hansen_." Jazmine punctuated his name cruelly, hands resting on her hips in a way that demanded a satisfactory reply. Despite the air of sorrow that normally surrounded her, her demeanor was one of aggression and confidence. Any normal man would have likely folded under it.

What happened next came in a blur. Jazmine felt herself being forced backwards and driven into the iron wall of the hallway. _Hard_. She didn't cower though, nor did she fight him. She merely held her ground and surveyed him in a challenging manner. Chuck had trapped her wrists above her head in a death-grip, moving towards her until their faces were barely inches apart and his body was pressed just slightly into hers.

"I do as I please, _Becket_. Everyone else here knows it. And you'd do well to learn it too."

* * *

It'd hurt when he'd had her for the first time. But that was only to be expected.

It wasn't like she'd ever been with anyone else before.

It was foolish— giving her virginity to someone like Chuck. Someone who didn't care for her, let alone love her. She knew it. But it didn't matter now. What was done was done.

Jazmine was positioned on her hands and knees in front of him, gasping in discomfort and pain as her body began to crumple slightly at the sensation of being filled for the first time. She could literally _feel_ herself tearing. Her recovery period was cut short however as she felt Chuck yanking her upwards by her hips. He slammed her back onto his length viciously, earning an audible cry from the American girl. "You like that, _Becket_?" he hissed, burying a fist in her long wavy hair and yanking her head up towards him.

"_Y-yes_…" Her voice was shaky; stifled, as she tried her best to ignore the feeling of what she assumed was her own blood tricking down her right thigh. The fiery young girl that Chuck had been at odds with not even an hour ago in the main wing of the barracks had all but vanished. Now, Jazmine Becket was in his bed, bent over in front of him while he fucked her from behind. It was getting him off to no end.

"Good…"

Another particularly rough thrust.

"Because you're _mine_ now."

She could practically _hear_ the smile on his face. 

* * *

"Don't.. _don't stop_..!"

Jazmine's hands were planted lightly upon his toned chest while she rode him. Chuck arched up into her with each thrust, tightening his grasp on her rear as he watched her sizable breasts bounce up and down with each jerk he gave. He could feel himself ready to peak at any given moment, driving into her with primal need and receiving loud, yet grateful cries of satisfaction in return.

It was a good thing that it was around four in the morning.

They would meet like this most nights. Normally in his room, though sometimes in hers. Wherever was most convenient at the time. Outside of their late night trysts, there was no substantial difference in the day-to-day interaction between the two of them. Little had changed, really.

Things had been going on this way for several months now. And at times, it seriously made Jazmine contemplate what she was doing with her life.

"Ah, shit.. I'm about to come.." Chuck groaned. He clenched her hips savagely in his calloused hands, working her over his shaft again and again until she felt his whole body begin to tense. Muttering a string of half audible curses under his breath, Chuck abruptly pushed her forward so that she was now laying flat on the bed. He gave a few more shallow thrusts before reluctantly withdrawing and allowing his release to spatter all over her smooth stomach.

The only sound in the room for quite some time was the two of them simultaneously trying to catch their breath. Jazmine was the first to stir, blinking once and then shutting her eyes for a few moments. Upon re-opening them, her vision drifted downwards to the small murky puddle painting her torso. She had to give him credit. Despite the fact that there was nothing other than physicality between them, Chuck had, at the very least, had the decency to pull out each and every time they'd been together. Reaching over habitually towards the box of tissues sitting on the table next to his bed, she wiped the sticky substance from her body.

Chuck was still breathing heavily, clearly exhausted from their romp. He carefully moved away from her, having shifted onto his side before pulling a sheet upwards to cover his exposed skin. Normally, this would be the point in which she gathered her clothing and excused herself.. but there had been several nights where she'd simply fallen asleep right next to him, feeling too fatigued and (strangely enough) comfortable to move. Stranger yet, Chuck didn't seem to mind the occasions in which she _had_ fallen asleep in his bed. Even though she wasn't exactly sure what they were to one another, he had never once told her to leave. There had even been a few times where she could have sworn she felt his body pressed against hers while they slept.

Jazmine quietly laid back down beside him so that she was facing the Australian boy. Admittedly, when he wasn't running his mouth off, he was quite an attractive man. Barely twenty one years old, but handsome beyond his years. It went without saying that in all likelihood, there were plenty of girls who would have been dying to be in her position right now. His eyes were shut.. though she doubted that he could have succumbed to sleep so quickly.

"Not leaving tonight, _eh_? … You like what you see, girlie?"

Even with his eyes closed and his voice slightly slurred, Chuck's words still managed to resonate with trademark arrogance.

_He was so sure of himself. It was amazing._

Jazmine's nose wrinkled a bit in response, quick to pretend that she hadn't just been admiring him the way she was. "Shut up, you. I'm tired… you did me in."

If it hadn't been so dark in the room, she might have caught the hint of a grin flashing across Chuck's face. "Alright, don't get your panties in a bunch, Becket. I'm only teasing…" The ranger's eyes were open now, reaching out to flip a stray piece of hair away from her face. His fingers gently lingered by her cheek, just a little longer than was permissable, before moving his hand away.

Now the girl in his bed had gone silent. That was one of the first times he'd ever said anything even remotely pleasant to her— let alone touched her nice-like. Outside of sex, their conversations up till now had contained little more than outright animosity. Perhaps it was because he was tired.. He must not have been thinking straight. Yeah. That had to be it. She, on the other hand, was quite awake now.

Her reply never came. She was unsure of what to say anyways. Turning over to face away from him after an awkward silence, Jazmine resolved to get some sleep before she would need to get up and slip out of his room in a few hours.

* * *

Jazmine Becket spent her time alone most days.

Being alone was never really something that bothered her. Or maybe it was because she just didn't let it. Either way— she had her own "secret spot" that was much better than sitting in some over-crowded mess hall with the other mechanics. It was a simple lookout platform, situated over the bay in which Gipsy Danger was docked. Nothing that would have been overly extravagant to most of the Shatterdome's tenants, but it was still a place that she felt at ease.

Any pleasant thoughts were unexpectedly cut short when she collided head on with someone in an effort to turn a corner. And at breakneck speed. Jazmine staggered backwards, only to be greeted with a colourful slew of expletives from the stranger in question.

"Oi! Why don't you watch where you're going you daft _motherfu_—"

Then she was locking stares with Chuck Hansen.

"Becket—? What the _hell_ are you doing here?"

She wouldn't have said that his tone had softened, necessarily— but it had changed from one of blind anger to legitimate surprise. Peppered with a dash of annoyance, too. There was no time for her to react though. He glanced over his shoulder once before hastily grabbing her by the hand and towing her in the direction from which she'd come.

"Wait..! What are you doing?"

"Just be quiet, Becket!"

And for once, Jazmine decided that it was better to remain quiet. Chuck had been moving with such purpose that she figured he must be trying to get away from something.. or someone. Several turns later through the winding corriders of the facility, the young pilot was pulling the two of them into what appeared to be a vacant supply closet, shutting the door hurriedly after they'd cleared the threshold. He exhaled with what seemed to be relief, standing several feet away from her in front of an empty supply rack. Taking a moment to push the locks of chestnut brown hair obscuring her vision from her face, Jazmine wasted no time training her gaze on Chuck, semi-expectantly.

"What was that all about?"

Now that they were away from… whatever it was they needed to _be_ away from, some answers would be nice.

"… my old man— following after me. Crazy old dog just doesn't know when to quit".

"Did you … have a disagreement or something?" Each word was chosen carefully, genuinely surprised that Chuck was even beginning to explain what seemed to be a bit of a personal dilemma to her.

"That's none of your damn business." He snapped defensively, furrowing his brow.

Jazmine's face instantly contorted, writing herself off as a simpleton for wanting to believe Chuck could ever be anything more than an asshole towards her. "Yeah? Well at least you still have your father. Maybe you should just try being thankful for that much."

She… hadn't meant to say that. But it just sort of came out.

The Australian pilot paused at this— and the morning he'd last seen his mother came flooding involuntarily into his mind. Even though it had been nearly ten years ago, he could still recount it vividly. Her curly strawberry blonde hair, pretty blue eyes and kind smile. The way she'd sweetly kissed him goodbye on his forehead before she'd left for work.

And then she was gone.

His father would not speak.

_He was alone_.

"… Look, I—" Chuck hesitated. The precursors to what appeared to be tears were welling up in the corners of the girl's eyes now. It wasn't a weepy sort of sad crying though. They were more like the tears you get when you're wordlessly frustrated by something. He'd always been terrible at these sorts of things.

It _had_ been his spur-of-the-moment decision to drag her in here with him. And it wasn't like she knew anything about his god awful relationship with his father, or would understand it for that matter. Not only that— he couldn't help but find himself a bit taken aback that she would even care to ask in the first place. No one ever did… albeit for seemingly obvious reasons.

Chuck Hansen may have been an asshole— but he wasn't heartless.

"… I'm— not _trying_ to be a prick. I just.. am sometimes, I don't know." The voice he'd used was very low, almost humble even, as if he were afraid that someone else might hear him through the thick metal walls. "I guess I should at least try to not be as much of one to you though, eh..? We're only snogging one another for god sake and you're _still_ the only person that I've ever been any kind of close to in this stupid place, Jazmine…" Casting a dispondent, downwards smile, he did his best to act nonchalant in regards to the whole ordeal.

That was the first time he'd ever called he by her name. And somehow, that alone had given her the faintest reassurance that maybe she hadn't just been wasting the past four months of her life sleeping with some attractive, rude bastard for no foreseeable reason.

Giving her a nervous glance, Chuck began pacing back a forth a bit, suddenly feeling extremely vulnerable. It could have been that he was afraid she would judge him; think he'd gone soft. But his fears were never realized. Jazmine had blinked away the tears in her eyes, and feeling particularly brave now, she'd cautiously moved to approach him. "It's— I mean… Everyone has their reasons.. for the way they are." Reaching up to brush his messy reddish hair away from his forehead while she spoke, she was letting her body run on autopilot now. What he'd said… it was a side of him she'd never been allowed to see before. _A dangerous side_. It made her want to comfort him; be close to him. She didn't even bother to second guess herself when she'd leaned up to press her lips against his.

Chuck, who had been feeling ill at ease only seconds before, thoughtlessly reciprocated the kiss the instant he'd felt her lips touch his own. There was something that sparked inside of him at that moment. It was an alien sort of thing, that he clearly knew nothing about… but somehow it felt much nicer than constantly arguing with the American girl. His father long forgotten, he pulled her against him, entertaining his urge to wrap his arms around the small of her back while their kiss intensified.

"What.. are you… doing..?" It was a half-hearted question if he'd ever heard one, as he was kissing her back now just as fervently.

"I don't know…" She admitted, finally pulling away. Jazmine's eyes drifted away from him, silently staring down at the ground for a couple of seconds as if she was contemplating some unknown thing. He would have taken the time to be confused had he not felt her fingers hooking under his belt before he could even form any manner of conscious thought.

"But what I do know.. is that you suddenly seem to have too many articles of clothing on, Hansen."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note**_: _This chapter went through a lot of editing and tweaking which is why it took so long to be posted. Sorry if anyone thought the story was dead. Sometimes, you just get a lot of ideas all at once and it's difficult to get them all down in a comprehensive manner. :P I know I also said it was going to be two parts originally, but it looks like there's going to need to be one last chapter to properly wrap this story up._

_It's pretty interesting getting to write a relationship between two people in a backwards sort of way. Where they start off with nothing but sex and then slowly begin to find things here and there that they like about one another and become closer._

_As always, please R&R. And JFC, writing Nice-But-Still-IC!Chuck is hard, lol.  
_

* * *

Chuck Hansen had been dining in the mess hall less and less as the days went by.

Following the detour taken to the supply closet a couple weeks before, Jazmine had discreetly seized him by his hand one day in the cafeteria- taking him up to her "spot" overlooking Gipsy Danger's docking bay. Shockingly enough, he hadn't resisted her advances either. In some far off corner of her mind, she'd secretly found herself hoping that it was because they'd actually come to like one another's company a bit. But it could have just been a way for him to avoid seeing his father too. The two of them still didn't seem to be on speaking terms.

She tried not to dwell on it too much.

The two of them sat side by side with their legs dangling over the edge of the platform, and neither of them spoke. Instead they watched as the waves of mechanics worked tirelessly at reassembling the Mark 3 Jaeger towering in front of them. There was never an excess of conversation in the time they spent together, but at least they weren't constantly fighting anymore. That had to count for something.

"Hey- Chuck.." Jazmine swallowed somewhat anxiously after speaking his name. She wasn't used to addressing him so informally.

"Hm?" The ranger turned his head to look in her direction, waiting to hear what she had to say. At least he hadn't seem bothered by her calling him by his first name.

"Do you think this war will ever end?"

He didn't answer right away- as if he'd wanted to put some thought into how he was going to reply. It's not like it was a terribly simple question either. "... I don't know." It was a quiet and honest response; realistic and unladen with false optimism.

Jazmine's eyes strayed from him. She had no answers to that question herself, obviously. So she couldn't fault him for his lack of things to say on the matter.

"... They talk about finishing the wall around Sydney- where I'm from. Say the Kaiju won't be able to break through it. They're pouring most of their resources into it now, even." Refocusing her attention, Jazmine was listening intently. She hadn't expected him to continue. Chuck paused, taking some time to compose his thoughts.

It'd been so long since he'd spoken to _anyone _like this.

"I don't really know that that's a sound course of action though. It's a temporary fix, sure... but it's not going to _stop_ anything from coming through The Breach. You know- at this rate, it'll only be a matter of time.. before..."

He didn't need to finish his sentence.

"Yeah. I get it." Her expression twisted at the very notion of what he'd been getting at.

This time she didn't look back at him. Her attention was fully focused on the half assembled Jaeger before them instead. After Yancy had been killed in Anchorage, their brother Raleigh had left the PPDC and, seemingly, vanished into thin air. He'd told no one of his whereabouts.. most likely due to some sort of survivor's guilt.

Yancy, Raleigh and herself had been separated upon graduating from the PPDC's Jaeger Academy. Her brothers were assigned to a base in Alaska while she was sent to Hong Kong to serve as a chief engineer. As a result, contact between the siblings throughout the years had been sparse to non-existent.

_It would be six years that winter since Jazmine had actually seen him last_.

Part of her honestly wondered whether she would even be _able _to recognize Raleigh if she saw him again.

* * *

"What do you think you'd be doing now? You know, if everything had stayed normal."

The two of them were laying in bed, staring up blankly at the ceiling.

Chuck cocked a brow curiously, which was partnered with an equally peculiar look. "Eh.. Getting to be a kid still, I guess? Chasing after hot girls? I don't even know." He shrugged and rolled over to face her before continuing. "What I _do _know though.. is that you're in the habit of asking odd and difficult-to-answer questions, woman." There was a small smirk on his face when he finished speaking, which ellicited a playful glare from Jazmine.

"It's called making conversation, you ass." The American girl sighed jeeringly. Giving his arm a light smack, she readjusted the blankets to cover her otherwise unclothed chest and flopped back down on the bed.

His charming crooked smile only broadened when she'd hit him. "I know, I know. God- calm down, sweetheart." Chuck closed his eyes then, the grin on his face gradually dying down to a small smirk.

Recently it seemed as though their relationship had taken a different sort of turn. Being with her- it wasn't just senseless fucking anymore. Even though he'd initially done what he could to avoid her, Jazmine was... becoming someone who he could spend time with. Talk to. Someone of value to him. Chuck had never quite had that before, even prior to the war. It was confusing- but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't a bit beguiled by it at the same time. He would go back to the day in the supply closet over and over again in his mind, trying to pin-point exactly what it was that he'd experienced there.

_It was_.. it made his heart feel _light_. Like the hatred that had gripped it so tightly for the past ten years was slowly subsiding. Like he was coming up for air after being underwater for what felt like an eternity. She had a way of leaving him wanting more.. and that was something he was just now starting to realize.

A small fragment of his conscience cautioned that it wasn't wise to let her into his heart though. Because he knew what happened when you cared for someone. From there, you're only able to lose them. Drowning that voice out was anything but sensible, and yet Chuck didn't _want _to listen. There was finally something in his life that made things seem okay. Someone who might vanquish how terrible and empty he had felt up until then.

Bad idea or not, he wasn't ready to let all of that go.

The ranger's moment of honest thought was interrupted too soon for his liking by the feeling of Jazmine gingerly sliding off the bed.

"Oi- where are you going, Jaz?" Propping himself up on an elbow, Chuck watched as she began foraging around the room for her discarded clothes.

"I have a meeting with the higher ups this morning. It wouldn't do well to be late for an appointment like that, now would it?" Sliding her top back over her head, Jazmine set to work on rebuttoning her pants shortly after.

"A meeting? For what exactly?" Chuck yawned.

"I'm sure it's nothing out of the ordinary. Don't worry about it, Hansen." Leaning down to place a small kiss to his forehead, Jazmine used the sweetest, most disarming voice she could muster. "I'll come back to see you later tonight."

"Mmm.. alright then." This answer seemed to suffice for the time being. Duty before desire, he supposed. He was too tired to argue otherwise anyways. Chuck sunk back down into the cot, gazing up at her lazily. "You'd better be back though.. you hear me, _Becket_?"

"Loud and clear." Giving a mock salute, she unfastened the deadbolt on the metal door and slipped out into the hallway.

* * *

She hadn't told Chuck.

A little over seven months back, the Marshal had pulled Jazmine aside, wanting to speak with her. Up until then she'd figured that Gipsy Danger had only been retrieved from Oblivion Bay as it was still in a salvageable state from the battle in Anchorage. But it seemed that Pentecost had other ideas.

They had been searching for her brother for over a year now. It was believed that after quitting the PPDC, Raleigh had gone to work in construction back in the states. Even with said knowledge though, he'd been a difficult man to locate. The frequency of Kaiju attacks had been increasing rapidly during that time, and each day that passed equated to precious time which could not afford to be wasted. That was where she came in. In the likely event that they were unable to find her brother, Pentecost had proposed that Jazmine should finish her training to become a replacement pilot to Gipsy Danger in his stead. She was his sister, after all. Having seen little choice to do otherwise, she'd accepted.

Although she had not entered the academy exclusively to become a pilot like Raleigh and Yancy, Jazmine had completed basic courses on Jaeger functionality. That, and having studied to be an engineer, she knew the general structure of a Jaeger inside and out; it's strengths and its weaknesses alike. Her score in the simulator hadn't been perfect, though it was still well above average. Impressive enough to catch the Marshal's eye.

At the time, she figured that none of this would have particularly mattered to Chuck, and therefore wasn't a relevant conversational topic. There was no point in wasting her breath, so she didn't. But now that he was starting to relax around her some and, oddly enough, suddenly beginning to take an interest in what she did on her own time, Jazmine wasn't sure that it _would _be such a keen idea to tell him. Besides, while Pentecost had not sworn her to secrecy on the matter, she figured it was something that was most likely on a need-to-know basis only.

The meeting she had been summoned to that morning after leaving Chuck's room was more or less what she'd anticipated it would be. The search for her brother was still cold. They weren't sure they were even _going _to find him. And they didn't have time to wait for some type of miracle to occur. From there Pentecost had informed her that come mid-December, Jazmine would complete her training program, a roster of drift-compatible candidates would be assembled and trials would be held to select a suitable co-pilot. _For her_. Saluting the Marshal, Jazmine thanked him for his time and excused herself from his office. It was only after she'd nearly reached her own room that everything started to sink in.

_December was less than a month away_.

Everything was happening a little _too _fast. And even with the air of fortitude she wore so flawlessly, Jazmine wasn't sure she was ready for it to be real.

* * *

There had been a minor incident during Striker Eureka's drills that afternoon. A "hiccup" in the neural connection between the two pilots. Nothing serious had occurred, but there was a brief period of time where the Jaeger began to shake and whir violently and shouting had filled the control room. As suddenly as it had started though things returned to normal. The link between the pilots began to re-stabilize and Striker Eureka's routine exercises continued as per normal.

It was curious, no doubt. Especially for what most people considered to be the top Jaeger command crew in the world. Clearly it had taken everyone in the Shatterdome by surprise- excitable whispers circulating the mess hall when Chuck and Herc made their way through the sea of tables.

Even the best rangers were still human though.

_And humans made mistakes_.

Brushing off the stares he was receiving from all around, Chuck hadn't even bothered with food that day. All the gawking and gossiping was putting him in a foul mood and because of it he didn't have much of an appetite. Whatever. He wasn't trying to be in there any longer than he needed to be anyways.

Without a second thought Chuck exited the mess hall. He didn't really want to be around anyone right then. Actually, he didn't know _what _he wanted. And it went without saying that he was too frazzled to bother thinking of it at any sort of length.

One might have speculated that he was just walking aimlessly, blowing off steam.. but he knew exactly where his feet were taking him.

Jazmine was waiting for him there. Just as he'd guessed she would be.

Nothing was said. He simply stood in place- casting his gaze down at her and then allowing it to wander up to the nearly completed Jaeger looming above the platform. A few more moments elapsed before he finally slumped down next to her. The sigh of pure vexation from him immediately afterwards made Jazmine cringe inwardly.

"... everything alright?" The American girl wasn't going to ask what was wrong. She'd already had an idea. Given the situation, it probably wasn't a favorable idea to press her luck either. At least if the hardened expression on his face was any indication of how he may react.

"Yeah- I mean, it was just-" She could see him becoming visibly annoyed with himself, hands clenched into fists on his lap and his knuckles going white. "It was a stupid fucking mistake."

Chuck was obviously unhappy with himself. Exhaling into another drawn out sigh, he was still refusing to look at her- as if he was afraid that she might be disappointed in him too.

"Hey, I'm not here to judge. Things happen, Hansen."

And she wasn't. Despite his constant crusade for perfection, if there was one thing she'd come to learn in the duration of the time they'd spent together, it was that Chuck was _very _human indeed. He tried to hide it, with rage or arrogance, but his impulsiveness always betrayed him. That was alright though.. because Jazmine found that it only drew her towards him more.

The scowl on his face was still present, but had softened considerably, and his eyes were on her now. He had wanted to act coldly towards her, the same way he would have treated anyone else in his current mental state. But he couldn't. _Not her_. _Not anymore_. Unlike everyone else around him, Jazmine wasn't pointing out all of the things that were "wrong with him", nor did she have all manner of insane expectations for him. She was just sitting there- doing what she could to keep him company. No pressure whatsoever.

And that was what he needed.

"... Look, I... what I mean is... YOU-"

Chuck wasn't used to being nice. And it showed.

Immediately she grinned and attempted to stifle a laugh in response to his pitiful attempt at cordiality. She was failing almost as badly as he was though.

"Oi! What's so funny, then?!" He didn't seem to be angry with her when he'd said this. The look on his face was actually more curious and surprised.

"Well- at least you don't have to worry about anyone ever accusing you of being overly articulate."

".. what is that supposed to mean, _Becket!_?" The Mark 5 pilot was fighting back his own smile now, still stubbornly making a last-ditch bid at acting aloof.

"It's supposed to mean exactly what it sounded like" Jazmine quipped in return. "By the way- you're smiling, Hansen. And stupidly, too."

_So much for staving off his dumb smile_.

The Australian boy chuckled to himself a bit, accepting defeat. Tilting his body back, he took the time to survey the girl beside him in a fond manner. It wasn't ten minutes ago that he'd stepped onto the platform, feeling volatile in every facet of the word, and now he was sitting there laughing; smiling. Because of this crazy American girl that he'd bullied into his bed on a whim.

Half a year ago, Chuck might have laughed himself sick had someone tried to tell him he'd be behaving this way. Or that he'd be so strangely content with his life all of a sudden.

"... I'm just glad that you're around, Jaz."

The degree of sincerity in his voice was almost... _harrowing_. It was startling to her that he was even capable of it. She could have been speaking to a completely different person right then, really. A person who most certainly was _not _Chuck Hansen.

He had his way of never ceasing to surprise her though; whenever she thought she finally had him all figured out.

A girlish smile played across her lips and she did what she could to tame the blush spreading over her pale cheeks. "Don't sweat it." Jazmine attempted to make light of the situation and offered a tiny smile to the man beside her. "It- seemed like you needed it."

Suddenly, Chuck's fingers were twining around several locks of her soft brown hair. His hand slowly journeyed upwards from there until it came to rest on the soft surface of her cheek. Jazmine froze, but didn't pull away. It was surprising for him to be so outwardly affectionate, but there was no reluctance in his actions. In fact he seemed quite confident.

"Chuck..." Jazmine's voice was barely a whisper. Whatever else she might have planned on saying was lost to obscurity though as she felt him draw her in and close the gap between them with an ardent kiss.

Jazmine all but melted against him, laying one hand on his shoulder as she closed her eyes. All of the distant creaking and clanking of metal bouncing off the walls of the dome more or less disappeared as she savored the feeling of being close to him.

Chuck was the first to pull away from the kiss- briefly staring into her glassy blue eyes before he tugged her into a needful embrace and reached up to pet the back of her head in a gentle yet protective sort of way.

"I don't know what you're doing to me, Becket-"

He faced her again now, seeming a little unsure for the first time during the whole exchange. It was only a fleeting, temporary thing though.. as in an instant he'd pressed his forehead to hers and was flashing one of his infamous lopsided smiles.

"... but I guess I'm going to find out, eh?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **_I really hate doing AN's after the end of each chapter. I feel it takes away from the story in some way, but maybe that's just me being a weirdo. e_e_

_Anyways, here's the final chapter to "Symbiosis". __It ended up being about twice as long as the other two.. _In a lot of ways, it was really difficult to write.. *laughs* I had a lot of feelings while making this, and was having trouble wording it properly a lot of the time. There were a few places where I just wanted to give up, but I managed to finish it in a way that I'm happy with. Thanks so much to everyone who followed, favourited, reviewed, etc. I still have one more arc left in mind for this story, so hopefully I'll be able to start working on that in the not-too-distant future. ;u;  


* * *

Jazmine had gone back and forth in her head so many times over whether she would tell Chuck about the Marshal's intentions. Part of her reasoned it would only be right to let him in on what was happening- if for the sake of being truthful and nothing else. He may even be proud of her, in some way. Then there was another more logical piece of her mind that argued against this. Telling him something like that held the distinct possibility of doing nothing but causing problems. Fighting Kaiju wasn't exactly what you'd call a "safe" career choice._  
_

Of course, it could've been that she was overthinking things too. While the two of them had undeniably grown closer, Jazmine reasoned that it was still naive to just assume that he cared for her on that type of level. It wasn't like they were fucking married or anything. Being a soldier himself, she would've hoped he'd be able to understand that it was something that needed to be done. Something that was her responsibility.

She had ultimately resolved to tell him though, because when all was said and done, not saying anything was just a temporary bide for time. And time was something that was fastly running out. For everyone. He would discover the truth about it either way, sooner or later.

"You _WHAT_?"

And there it was. The answer that she'd been dreading. The scathing edge in his voice made her wonder if "later" may have been better than "sooner" after all. It went without saying that he hadn't taken well to her news.

The Austrailian Jaeger pilot was pacing around the room furiously like a tiger in a cage that was far too small. Jazmine stood off to the side- watching and trying not to get bitten. She wasn't planning on allowing him to intimidate her with his rage though.

"What do you mean '_what_'? You heard what I said. I don't see why I should need to explain myself- or how there even is anything _to _explain here."

There was pure venom in his stare. Actually, now that she thought of it, this was the first time he'd been so angry with her in.. well, _months_. Sure, they'd had more than their fair share of bitter spats in the past. But back then neither of them had been terribly concerned as to whether the other may have traipsed away in a foul mood.. which was more often the case than not. As such, it had been absurdly simple to disengage from all of said disputes.

But this wasn't really looking like something that could just be "traipsed away" from.

"You.." Ceasing his avid pacing, Chuck jerked a hand towards her and brought his index finger to a point, bobbing it up and down a few times to accentuate his words. "You really know how to piss me off."

"Piss _you _off?" Jazmine had found herself retaliating against his distaste for her own personal endeavors, having gone from being anxious to afraid to outright annoyed (and even slightly insulted) in the span of about five minutes. She didn't intend to stop there either. Taking measures to avoid feeding the fire was not something that mattered all that much to her anymore, so long as she was getting her point across. "You saying that is kind of a double standard, isn't it?"

Chuck threw his hands up into the air in frustration, eyes wide and his voice an unrefind sort of bellow that erupted savagely from his throat. "What the hell is that even supposed to mean!? You don't know what you're saying, you bloody woman!"

"_Well_, for starters- how is it right for you to criticize what I'm doing with my life when you do the exact same thing nearly every day of yours, Chuck Hansen? At least I'm doing it for the sake of the Resistance- and not to feed my own inflated ego. I never asked for any of this." It was her turn to glare at him now, her rhetoric pricking at his conscience like a thousand tiny, sharp needles.

Once again he was at odds with Jazmine Becket and once again, he had emerged the unspoken loser of one of their screaming matches. _Was she.. worried about him? Or.. no- she was probably just fucking with him or something_.

It hadn't struck much of a nerve when she'd more or less called him a self-absorbed piece of shit. He was used to that. He could deal with that. It was that the answer to the entire argument was so glaringly obvious.. and yet she either couldn't see it or, more likely, she had failed to acknowledge it alltogether.

"WHY? Why the fuck are you going to make me say it...?" It was a sentence that had started out strong and demanding but it quickly adopted a hopeless and strained tone nearing its end. The Mark 5 pilot had turned his back to her and silence set in. He didn't want her to see him like that.

Chuck was not someone who enjoyed discussing his feelings. Just knowing that they were there- it legitimately bothered him sometimes. Probably because he could do so little to change the majority of them. He found it miraculous that he'd even told her as much as he _had _about himself.

But to think that she couldn't see- that his reason for being so fucking upset with her over her decision was because he didn't want to see her _killed_...

That bothered him most of all.

"You... _stupid _fucking girl." There was no backbone. In fact his voice sounded rather defeated.

_Hurt_.

Even with how heated she'd been over everything, Jazmine couldn't bring herself to turn a blind eye when she'd heard him pretty much confirming what she'd been wondering about earlier. He didn't want to admit to having feelings for her. Any cruel thing he may have said then- it was simply a last-ditch effort to protect himself. Now that she knew the reason behind why he was so displeased with her, with the situation- she didn't need to continue fighting.

The truth was... aside from Raleigh, who had been little more than a ghost in her life since her fourteenth birthday, Chuck was the only person she had now. No, they weren't lovers; no one even knew about _them_, nor had they exchanged any flowery declarations of undying love to one another. Everything between them had happened in an upside-down sort of way that still left her reeling whenever she thought about it. Things were far from perfect- but Jazmine knew for sure in her heart that she cared for him.

_That she _needed _him_.

"... I didn't want to assume anything. You know- about _us_." She mentally gleaned over her sentence, having taken the utmost care to word it tactfully. It was no big shocker though when Chuck still refused to turn around.

An uncomfortable stillness had overtaken the room. Chuck wasn't moving; wasn't talking. That didn't mean he hadn't heard her though. Those small, deliberate steps that she'd been taking in his direction. He knew what those mean, and it caused the muscles in his back to lock up defensively.

The last thing he wanted was to just.. end up being okay with what she'd told him. Because he _wasn't_. In reality, he wanted nothing more than to stay angry with her, just to demonstrate how serious he was about it all. Tell her to get out and spend the rest of the day alone, fuming to himself in his room. But no matter how perturbed by the situation he may have been, Chuck's resolve to remain unmoved crumbled pitifully as soon as he'd felt her thin, cold arms twine around his abdomen.

_Hah. So this is what it was like._

_To finally have 'feelings' for someone._

It would've been nice to know when he'd become such a pushover.

The amusing thing about it all was that Jazmine was, most likely, fully aware that she held such a power over him. More than aware, even. She was using it _against_ him. And yet, she hadn't quite managed to grasp just how integral to his life she'd become. That was the cherry on top. Heh, the Becket girl really was something else.

The knot in Chuck's back loosened a bit at that thought, unable to disregard the charm that accompanied how cunning she could be. He tossed a small glance over his shoulder- just far enough to steal a glimpse of her wavy brown hair out of his peripheral vision.

"You always do this." His voice had a distinctly resigned aspect to it, which was a vast improvement over the relentless anger she'd been combatting earlier. He continued, still watching her from the corner of his eye. "Is it because you think that I'm weak and I can't turn you away?"

She smiled, musing silently to herself for a moment before tightening her embrace on him. "Yeah. That's exactly it."

And had she been able to see the Australian boy's face, Jazmine would have noticed the faint, upward curve donning his lips as well.

* * *

The chaotic, deafening sounds of alarms wailing around her filled the hanger of Hong Kong's Shatterdome, causing Jazmine to drop what she was doing. Horrifically and strangely enough though, she wasn't completely bewildered as to what was going on.

Something similar had happened not even three weeks ago.

_Only this time, it wasn't getting better_.

All eyes were fixed upon the live feed of Striker Eureka, whose pilots had just initiated what seemed to be another flawless drift; part of their daily grind. However, the neural link quickly began to deteriorate following the Jaeger's departure from the base. They'd frozen up several hundred feet from the launch port before Striker began to malfunction violently. Gasps and shouts of concern and terror filled the dome in response to the scene that was unfolding, but Jazmine could only look on helplessly- thoughts of a certain Australian ranger flickering through her mind.

Eventually all movement from the machine had ceased and the sound of its power supply shutting down could be heard cutting through the storm that was raging outside in the darkness. LOCCENT must have activated the Jaeger's Failsafe mechanism. Given the way Striker Eureka had been shaking and shorting while it stood out in the bay, it was most likely all they _could _do.

Nearly an hour had passed before the extraction team had managed to rig the Jaeger up to the transport helicopters, the whole facility having been thrown into a state of pandemonium in the aftermath of the failed drift. Jazmine had been brutally shoved through droves of fellow PPDC officers for the greater portion of the afternoon. Fellow officers who had been reduced to little more than a keening mob that was not-so-secretly dying to know the details of the incident. It was only when she'd overheard a couple of the extraction officers speaking amongst themselves that she knew to find Chuck in the infirmary.

She clawed her way through the droves of humans, breathing a silent "thank you" to her genetics in the process for having not made her any type of large. Everyone was still huddled in an amorphous, writhing mass, waiting to hear some sort of news from Control or even the Marshal himself. None of that mattered to Jazmine though. There was only one thing on her mind then. With minimal difficultly, she slipped out of the crowd and wasted no time in heading for where Chuck was rumored to be.

Chuck must have heard her. How couldn't he? She'd more or less come bounding into the infirmary like some kind of wild animal giving chase to its prey. He was poised on the edge of one of the flimsy little hospital beds scattered around the room; motionless- hunched over, his face buried in his hands. He didn't appear to have sustained any sort of notable injuries. Jazmine breathed a sigh of relief for that. Herc was absent from the room, having presumably been well enough to get up and leave after a standard examination. Not surprising either.

The infirmary was empty, aside from Chuck who was still as stone, and Jazmine could already gather that he wasn't planning to look up to see who was standing there. Or maybe he already knew. Even from where she leaned in the door way, she could practically feel the shame and anguish bleeding out of his crumpled body and filling the room around them like a cancer.

"Chuck-" She was still trying to catch her breath, gazing down at him worriedly.

Nothing. He hadn't even stirred after hearing her voice.

"Chuck.." Jazmine tried again, attempting to finally close the distance between them before he shifted at last. Jaggedly- _icily_.

"**Don't**- touch me."

She didn't. Instead the girl remained frozen in front of him- more than a little taken aback by his cold reception. Part of her wanted to feel offended, but none of this should've been news. Chuck Hansen was an asshole. The rest of the world knew it. So why didn't she?

Oh, right. Because she'd been living apart from the rest of the world for the past year of her life. A world where he'd been kind to her... She could attest with confidence that this wasn't the Chuck she knew. No matter how angry he'd ever been around her, he had _never _told her to not touch him. Something seemed- different this time.

But that was only a thought.

"Are... you aren't hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine- now just get away from me."

"-Alright. _Why _are you acting this way towards me?" Jazmine's eyebrows furrowed, and try as she might, she was unable to prevent the fire rising in the pit of her stomach from leaving her mouth. Her temper was almost as bad as his. "Fucking Christ, Chuck- I didn't do anything here! I was honestly afraid you'd been hurt, you insensitive shit!"

Chuck unclasped his hands from his face then and finally met her gaze. His features were flushed, there was a small trail of blood running from his left nostril and his hair was a slick, disheveled mess. But those eyes.. It was like his eyes were the only part of his face that had remained untouched. They stared up at her. _Through her_.

"So. Do you feel better now? Now that you know I'm 'alright'? And now that you've laid into me some? Well, _Jaz_?" He was on his feet then and she thought he might aggressivly thrust his face into hers and sling all the harsh words she'd bestowed upon him back her way. But Chuck didn't move from where he stood, wide eyes focused on the American girl in front of him. The stillness seemed interminable- neither of them wanting to be the first to break, treating it like some kind of trial. They had always been good at long bouts of silence, but Jazmine wasn't sure that was really something to boast over.

Finally, Chuck took it upon himself to shatter the eerie tranquility that had been cast over the room. He released a heavy sigh, partially in an effort to clear his thoughts and partially to rid himself of the tinnitus that had been setting in. It also went without saying that he was far too brash and impulsive to continue entertaining any of this waiting-game bullshit.

"I just need some time alone.." Chuck stated blankly. The quality of his voice remained rigid and detached, and while Jazmine was anything but pleased with the situation, abiding to his wishes at that point seemed substantially more appealing than continuing to stand there and listen to him scold her for being concerned.

"Fine. That's fine. I'll go."

Jazmine wasted no time in showing herself to the door, though not before chancing one last habitual look at Chuck. He'd slumped back down onto the bed, using the back of his hand to wipe away the trickle of blood that had been dribbling down his upper lip, eyes on the ground. A large piece of her had wanted nothing more than to go back beside him; tell him that he didn't need to be upset- with himself or anything else for that matter. Just- try to do _something_. But she was well aware that Chuck had zero tolerance for failure- and even more-so _personal _failure. If it was what had happened earlier in the day that had set him off... He would only push her away.

There was nothing left to say, even if she'd wanted to. So without another word, Jazmine rounded the corner of the doorway and allowed Chuck to slip from her view.

* * *

It had been six days since Jazmine had seen him.

She'd made no effort to contact him during that time- passing him in the mess hall daily without even offering a second look. Curiously enough though, she could feel his eyes upon her, each and every time. Whether it was a wistful look or a baleful one she couldn't say. Jazmine had figured that seeking him out prematurely could carry negative consequences. So she hadn't.

Secretly though, all of it... it was driving her mad. Chuck had never told her off like that before.. so what had changed? Was it that he was still berating himself from what had happened in Striker? It very well could have been that... but Jazmine's gut told her there was more to the story.

On the seventh day the American had inevitably found her way to his door. Like a lost animal. Despite being a talented mechanic, Jazmine had been defeated by her inner-girlishness this time around. It was still early. Around 0500 hours, if she had to guess. Too early for most people to be awake. Reluctantly raising her fist, she'd paused for a few moments before bringing it down against the metal of the door.

Once. Twice. Three times.

Approximately thirty seconds had passed and still no answer. He could have still been asleep, in all likelihood. A small, helpless smile penetrated her otherwise bleak expression, ready to just- concede defeat, try again later maybe. That's when she heard the dead bolt sliding out of its latch and the door swinging open with a soft, rumbling creak.

Chuck was standing in front of her then, shirtless. This would have been a more than welcome sight on any other occasion- but she had to be honest: he looked.. _awful_. Tired. Like he hadn't slept properly in days.

"... what is it?" His voice didn't sound much better.

"I- It's- been... days." Jazmine normally didn't stutter like that. She'd hoped to say something a bit more... intelligent after having not seen him in a week, but turbulent feelings really could make people say idiotic things.

"I know that..." he sighed raggedly, reaching up to scratch his heavily stubbled face awkwardly. "Is that all?" Now that she'd gotten a good look at him, Jazmine could see that Chuck had.. been letting himself go a bit. Had he even left his room? Other than to eat or participate in mandatory training exercises? Certainly didn't look like it.

"Um.. I've thought about the way things ended- the last time we talked. I _hated_ it. And I'm not sure what I did, to make you angry at me like this.. but I do know that I'm ready for it to just- be done with already."

The ranger frowned at this, letting out a light but sullen sigh. _He had missed her_. Chuck believed that he'd needed time alone; that he'd _wanted _it even. Just as he'd told her. And yet being apart from Jazmine.. he'd realized that he wasn't achieving anything with it. He felt like shit- _looked _like shit as a result. Perhaps he'd wanted to prove something to himself. Whatever he may have hoped to accomplish had since been lost to obscurity though. The bags under his eyes and the unkempt beard on his face being a testament to that.

There had been one small detail that continued to pick at him- one that Chuck hadn't mentioned to her, on top of being enlightened to her enlistment as a PPDC ranger, which he was still less than thrilled by. He could deal with the Marshal disapproving of him, or even his father being more disappointed with him than he already was.. but _losing her_?

No. Not that.

Jazmine Becket had ruined him.

"It's not- like that at all, Jaz..." he sighed, failing to make eye contact with her. It appeared as if he'd instead been focusing all of his energy on compiling what he'd wanted to say. "Look- I've felt like a pile of Grade-A Kaiju shit these past few days.. if that makes you feel any better."

Jazmine had attempted a tiny giggle over the ridiculous edge he'd given his voice. _She'd been waiting to hear that stupid voice for what seemed like forever now._ "So.. you aren't upset with me? About, you know.. my becoming a pilot... or- anything else?"

"... Orders are orders." He'd purposefully avoided the latter part of her sentence. She was there, at his door- and when he'd heard her voice, Chuck could feel a ripple of liveliness course through his body for the first time in _days_. With the way he'd been feeling, it would have been unbelievably foolish to squander that by bringing up odd and unpleasant things.

Jazmine looked relieved, donning a sweet but sultry smile before moving close enough to whisper whatever she'd intended to say in his ear. "Then will you... let me... _take care of you_? You're looking a little worse for the wear, Hansen.."

Chuck blinked. A knowing and even embarrassed expression crept onto his face. All of a sudden his pants felt a bit too tight. Unexpectedly enough, he was the one who had moved to touch her first, gently cupping her cheeks in his warm hands. There was no question of his intentions. He fully intended to kiss her, but Chuck found himself taking a minute to properly appreciate the brown haired girl in front of him first. Her pale, smooth skin; intense blue eyes... those slightly parted lips, begging for his own. She was beautiful. And more importantly- _she was his_.

Unwilling to spend any more time dawdling, Chuck surrendered and pulled her into a needy kiss. Their first in over seven days. Jazmine eagerly reciprocated his ministrations and pushed him back through the doorframe, making it clear that they'd been standing out in the hallway too long for her liking. He'd removed one hand from her waist only to slam the door behind them as the pair stumbled into his room- not caring at all who he might have woke in the process.

Jazmine immediately set to work on his belt buckle in between frantic kisses when she'd heard the door shut. The familiar noise of clattering metal against worn leather was like music to her ears, and with a few skilled flicks of the wrist she had freed him of his constraints. The American girl broke their bruising kiss and slowly dropped down to her knees before him, grasping his thick, throbbing erection in her nimble fingers. Chuck swallowed anxiously at this while the rest of his body was trembling from anticipation. It had definitely been a while- and it wasn't like he could ever forget what it had felt like the first time that she'd done this for him.

Then her mouth was on him and he'd nearly forgotten how to breathe. The reddish-haired boy's gaze was affixed on her, lustfully. "Oh, fuck.." Chuck growled, forcefully threading his fingers through her hair when he'd felt the tip of her tongue run along the underside of his length. It had taken every ounce of his self control to not jolt his hips forward reflexively and start roughly fucking her mouth when she'd done that.

Jazmine continued to stimulate him, her eyes reflecting her amusement when she'd heard him let out a small, pleasure-filled gasp. Only during their more recent encounters had she taken to wanting to please him like this. For the longest time, they'd just met up for a quick screw here and there, neither being all that concerned about doing anything to please only their partner. But things had changed, and Jazmine found herself actively _wanting _to make him feel good now.

Without warning Chuck had pulled her up and off of him. "Keep up like that and you're going to finish me off, sweetheart..." he whispered with a grin. Stealing another kiss, he guided her onto his bed where she sat at the edge. Jazmine hooked her fingers around the waistband of her underwear and quickly discarded them once she'd pulled them off and over her legs. Chuck took the time to remove the fitted gray shirt he'd been wearing, which was quick to join the other forgotten items of clothing littering his floor.

"Turn around. Get on your hands and knees." The gravelly texture of his voice sent a chill through her. Jazmine complied though, all too eagarly. Facing away, she rested her palms on the bed and bent forward carefully- baring herself to him.

He'd been more than ready. No sooner had she turned away did Jazmine feel herself being filled from behind in one decisive movement. "Ah!" The Becket girl's voice was forced from where it'd been hitched in her throat, grinding her hips back against his pelvis appreciatively and tugging at the sheets with clenched fists.

Chuck couldn't help but smile when he'd heard Jazmine squeak. Strong hands found her sides and held her in place as he started to move. He built a solid rhythm, digging his fingers into the soft flesh of her hips while he found enjoyment in each and every one of the tiny sounds she would make. Chuck leaned over her, dominantly. Confidently. His left arm secured itself around her lithe waist while his right hand journeyed upwards to caress her chest. "Jaz- you feel so... fucking good.." he'd muttered, planting a light trail of kisses on her shoulder blade as he continued to drive in and out.

A desperate whimper was the only comprehensible reply that he received. There had been more. Something profane from the sounds of it. Whatever she'd uttered had been muffled by a combination of the rumpled bedding and her hair though. Still- he loved it when she talked dirty.

The Australian's thrusts had become deliberate and deep and he could feel himself hitting the back of her opening each time he surged forward. Jazmine was fighting to remain upright at this point, her legs and arms trembling from how viciously Chuck had been slamming into her. This was probably his favourite way to take her. Seeing her folded in front of him; gasping. _Begging_. Completely at his mercy. It piqued some some of animalistic urge inside him; made him lose control. He liked that. They couldn't have been going for more than ten minutes, but Chuck found he was already dangerously close to finishing.

"-I'm gonna come, love." Clutching her hips harshly, Chuck's thrusts had turned frenzied and shallow, recklessly trying to send both of them over the edge. Following a particularly notable dose of friction, Jazmine's body buckled and she let out a strangled cry as her inner walls contracted around him. The sensation caused the Mark 5 pilot's muscles to go taut, knowing full well what was to come next. He'd wanted nothing more than to just keep moving; hold her down and come inside of her warm, waiting heat. But even with the hazy mental state he was in, Chuck could still grasp that it would've been too risky. At the very last moment, he'd hastily jerked away from Jazmine, his release readily spilling onto her backside after he'd withdrawn.

Seconds became minutes, and he was still spiraling downward from his high- trying to avoid both falling onto Jazmine as well as being sent tumbling off the bed. She hadn't moved, but he could see her back rising and falling repeatedly; her legs quivering deliciously. It told him that she'd managed to achieve the same sort of post-orgasmic bliss that she'd so graciously bestowed upon him.

"Well Jaz-" Chuck began, his voice cracking comically. After offering her a tissue to clean herself off with, he'd ran a sweaty hand down the length of her back, stopping when his fingers reached the area just over her hips. "-to answer your earlier question: if I'm mad at you for anything, it's for making me wait a whole week to do _that_."

The girl in his bed shot him a look of disbelief. Amused disbelief, but disbelief all the same. She'd been more than ready to go up in arms and begin protesting about how he'd told _her _to stay away from _him _and some such juvenile nonsense. Maybe smack him around a little too. It never happened though. Jazmine only shook her head, unable to conceal her mirth. She'd curled on her side instead of answering and faced away from him in a mock pout. Chuck scooted closer behind her, pulling her against him as he gently buried his face in the nape of her neck. _She was so warm... soft_... and he couldn't get enough of how her body seemed to fit so perfectly against his own.

The American girl had already started drifting off to sleep in his arms.. which Chuck found to be endlessly adorable, though he would never admit it. She probably hadn't slept much during the past several days either... He drew away from her- carefully stroking her arm a few times before directing his gaze downward to nowhere in particular.

_Fuck whatever it was his gut had been telling him. It didn't matter._

Chuck wasn't sure of a lot of things. Whether the breach could be sealed. Whether he and his father would ever be a family again. _Whether he might die tomorrow_... But amidst all of his uncertainty, one thing he did know was how he felt about Jazmine, and that he realized now he didn't care what anyone else thought. He wanted her close to him. Always.

It was the last mistake he would ever make.

* * *

Running. That's what Jazmine Becket was doing.

Down the corridor she went- work boots thudding noisily against the metal grating on the floor. She didn't care who she might have bumped into; about any of the bizarre stares she was earning.

Or that everyone could see the tears in her eyes, which threatened to come streaming down her face at any given time.

The Marshal had summoned her to his office that morning, and while Jazmine had assumed that it had been to tell her that they'd finally called off the search for her long-lost brother, she was instead greeted with some very different news.

They had found Raleigh. Intel had traced him to Sitka, where the final stretch of the Anti Kaiju Wall was being erected along the coastline of the states. He was there, as they spoke, working as a welder. Fighting tooth and nail for every meal he might get. Once they could properly confirm this information, the PPDC would be sending a chopper out to retrieve him ASAP.

This news had brought Jazmine a great sense of relief. Like a terrible weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. Of course she had been prepared to pilot Gipsy Danger in her brother's absence.. but now that they had found Raleigh, that would no longer be necessary. It was in his hands now, and despite some of the things people had said about her brother during the past couple years, Jazmine knew that he was more than capable of getting back into a Jaeger.

Nothing could have prepared her for what she'd been told next though.

Immediately after Stacker had briefed her on Raleigh's whereabouts, his expression had turned grave. Jazmine could still see it perfectly even now, despite her ensuing fatigue and how obscured by tears her vision had become.

She was being dismissed from her post.

Pentecost had tried to pass it off as the Dome simply downsizing. Saying that Operation Pitfall would either make or break humanity, and that now that her brother was returning to active duty, it was no longer necessary for Jazmine to remain at the base. It was true that regardless of the outcome, there would no longer be a need for the PPDC after the plan was set into motion. Either the mission would be a success, in which case the PPDC along with the Jaeger program would sunset as a result. Or, everything would be over. The world would be lost and the human race exterminated.

But Jazmine was no fool. Other officers may have been contented with simply nodding their head and following orders without question, but to her it just didn't add up. Even if she was no longer required to pilot Gipsy Danger, _**this **_was humanity's last stand. Life as they knew it was riding on the success of this operation. And as a chief engineer, with that two ton nuke needing to be rigged with the utmost precision to Striker's back and the tune ups that would be required on the Jaegers for the assault on The Breach... Pentecost would be in need of her services more than ever.

She had tried to appeal to the Marshal. Respectfully. Repeatedly. Telling him that this was something she personally needed to see through until the end. The apocalypse was very real, and yet Jazmine found that she wasn't sure whether she'd been speaking out of selfishness or from the heart.

Maybe it was a bit of both.

From there, things only went from bad to worse. And the ugly truth finally emerged amid all of her incessant arguing and Pentecost's myriad excuses.

_How could she have been so stupid_?

Of course _they would have seen her in the Drift_.

It was a miniscule detail that, up until then, she hadn't even bothered to acknowledge. And ironically enough, it was now that one thing that was causing her entire world to come collapsing down around her.

The real reason that Jazmine Becket had been discharged so abruptly was because Pentecost knew. _Somehow_, he'd found out that she'd been in the Hansen's drift before Striker Eureka had malfunctioned. Chuck had gone out of alignment when his thoughts of her potentially dying in combat resurfaced. Both times.

_But how could the Marshal have known that? There was no way for him to see... Was it Herc_? Probably. He wasn't the sort of man who would try to stir up trouble for no reason. Most likely, he had only told Stacker out of concern for the mission. And more importantly, out of concern for his son. There was no way Jazmine could place blame upon him for that.

_... was this why Chuck had been trying so hard to push her away_?

It was almost nauseating how things had suddenly started to make so much sense. Pentecost had told her she had two days to gather her things and leave Hong Kong. That she would continue to help oversee the technical work done to the Jaegers until that time. And more memorably, that the battlefield was no place for young love.

Suddenly her tears were falling and she was standing there in the hall way, banging frantically on Chuck Hansen's door.

Jazmine would have liked to have seen her brother, at least once.. but it wasn't up to her, obviously. She loved Raleigh. He was her brother; the only family she had left now. But not only was that not going to happen, Jazmine also wouldn't have known what to say to him even if she got the chance.

There had been nothing to be happy about... for the longest time. _The world was ending_. _Her mother had lost her battle to cancer- her father had abandoned them not long after. Raleigh was missing. Yancy was dead..._

But then, in the way that life sometimes tends to takes a sharp left turn, Jazmine Becket unexpectedly happened upon something that had given her hope. _Someone_ truly special.

How could she have known that she would come to adore them? A person she never thought she could even grow to like- let alone care for. This _person,_ that was _irreplaceable_ to her now. This person who had saved her; made her feel alive again.

Jazmine screwed her eyes shut, slumping against the cold surface of the door and striving to put and end to the tears that were cascading down her cheeks. They would be able to see one another again once the war was over. That's what Pentecost had told her. And yet, for whatever reason, Jazmine was unable to hold out any sort of hope for this idea. Perhaps because not only had Category IV kaiju started emerging from Breach, but having been deemed the best equipped to cross over to the other side of the portal, Striker _alone_ was expected to deliver the payload. Chances of survival were slim. No matter how you diced it, Pitfall was, for all intents and purposes, a suicide mission.

The youngest Becket sibling remained crumpled alongside the door, not even caring how cold and uncomfortable the weathered metal felt against her skin. Continuing to weakly pound a balled fist against the it, she attempted to let out a small, desperate cry. No sound had come out though, and Jazmine recognized that she had all but lost her voice. It wasn't even that she wanted anyone to hear her necessarily... It was more that she didn't know what else to do.

The door swung open then, violently, and Jazmine went stumbling backwards as a result- struggling to maintain her balance when she was greeted by the familiar face of Chuck Hansen. She didn't speak. Her eyes were red, nose running.. Her normally vibrant face soaked with countless tears. Less than a welcome sight indeed. But the Australian ranger's face was instantly wrought with worry- a fact that he wasn't even bothering to hide.

"Jaz? What is it? What's wrong?" His hands found her shoulders and he shook her lightly, as if he thought it might bring her answer to him quicker that way. Doing her best to force out a weak, subdued kind of smile, Jazmine looked up at him shakily- her voice strangled and little more than a pained whisper when she finally spoke...

. . .

"... _Chuck_-"


End file.
